


Standard Operating Procedure: Enjoyment in the Event of Birthday

by Linguini



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Angst, Car Accidents, Gen, Gen Fic, Jelly Babies, Martin makes assumptions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-05
Updated: 2012-05-05
Packaged: 2017-11-04 21:16:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/398289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linguini/pseuds/Linguini
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jelly Babies to Manual</p>
            </blockquote>





	Standard Operating Procedure: Enjoyment in the Event of Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> From a prompt challenge to make Martin angst over Jelly Babies.

In retrospect, it seemed childish to have been so upset. True, it was his birthday, but only his 36th, which wasn’t even an important year anyway.

And he’d known that Douglas’s divorce had been finalized the day before. That he’d been spending his days off and his evenings in a hotel 45 miles away, waiting for the inevitable “You’d better come in now. Not much longer…” That he hadn’t won a single bet, word game, or round of Passenger Derby in weeks.

And yet.

It had still hurt when he sat at his desk uncongratulated by Carolyn (unsurprisingly) or Arthur (shockingly). And Douglas, sod that smarmy man, couldn’t even be bothered to show up for the pre-arranged lunch at Martin’s favorite café, which left the captain in a foul mood on a day that, in the black box in his heart, he felt should have at least been a time for an acknowledgement of the camaraderie between the two pilots. If not outright friendship. Martin had resolved to harden his heart against people who would only disappoint when the chips were down.

Then came the phone call. The shocking, heart-twisting, gut-wrenching phone call. Douglas, driving too quickly. A drunk, wandering aimlessly in the road. An experienced pilot’s reflexive instincts. A guard rail.

“You’re listed as his emergency contact, Mr. Creff,” they told him.

“Captain CrEE-f,” he corrected automatically. “What? Why would he…”

But he was interrupted with a flow of addresses, directions, phone numbers, and instructions that he barely managed to write down before the phone call ended.

Thirty seconds to catch his breath that felt like thirty minutes. Then the stumble out to GERTI, to retrieve Carolyn and Arthur, prepping GERTI for their flight. The exclamations of shock and worry.

And now they’re standing here, and all Martin can think of is how childish he’s been all day.

“Right, then,” Carolyn announces. “We’ll go in my car. Martin, contact ATC and cancel the flight plan.”

Martin nods as Carolyn marches out, back ramrod straight, and then makes his way to the flight deck to radio tower.

“ATC, Golf Tango India.”

“Go ahead, Golf Tango India”

“Carl, something’s come up and we won’t be flying today. Can you…”

Martin pauses.

Carl comes back on. “Ask Sarah to cancel the plan? Will do, Martin. Anything else?”

But Martin barely hears the man, engrossed as he is at the sight of a two pound bag of jelly babies sitting in his seat.

A sharp call cuts through his shock. “Captain Crieff, anything else?”

“Er, no Carl. That’s all, thanks.” He drops the radio grabs the bag, which has a note cellotaped to the front:

“Standard Operating Procedure: Enjoyment in the Event of Birthday  
Step 1: Captain consults calendar, confirms natal anniversary  
Step 2: Captain opens bag  
Step 3: Captain consumes jelly babies  
Step 4: Captain writes BIRTHDAY BOY on forehead with lipstick, dons cap, enters cabin

Happy birthday, to the finest captain at MJN.”

He doesn’t need to read the signature to know who it’s from. Clutching the bag to his chest, he sinks into his chair, mind blank but for one thought. _Oh, Douglas._


End file.
